Weasel with a black-tipped tail / SUN 2-22-26 / Literary fairy queen / Noted art deco designer / Mathematician Paul / Wielder of a red lightsaber / Like Constantinople, in 1930 / Hopeless from the start, for short / New Yorkie, say / Setting for a landscape / 2006 mockumentary about a Kazakh journalist

Constructor: Jill Rafaloff and Michelle Sontarp

Relative difficulty: (way too) Easy

[54D: Wielder of a red lightsaber]

THEME: "Books of the Bible" — famous figures / places / events from the Bible are used as punny clues for famous books:

Theme answers:

• DEATH ON THE NILE (24A: The Ten Plagues)
• A TALE OF TWO CITIES (31A: Sodom and Gomorrah)
• DANGEROUS LIAISONS (49A: Samson and Delilah)
• WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (66A: Noah's Ark)
• THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (85A: Garden of Eden)
• THE PRINCE OF TIDES (103A: Moses Parting the Red Sea)
• THE GREAT ESCAPE (114A: Jonah and the Whale)

Word of the Day: Paul ERDOS (36D: Mathematician Paul) —

Paul Erdős (Hungarian: Erdős Pál [ˈɛrdøːʃ ˈpaːl]; 26 March 1913 – 20 September 1996) was a Hungarian mathematician. He was one of the most prolific mathematicians and producers of mathematical conjectures of the 20th century. Erdős pursued and proposed problems in discrete mathematics, graph theory, number theory, mathematical analysis, approximation theory, set theory, and probability theory. Much of his work centered on discrete mathematics, cracking many previously unsolved problems in the field. He championed and contributed to Ramsey theory, which studies the conditions in which order necessarily appears. Overall, his work leaned towards solving previously open problems, rather than developing or exploring new areas of mathematics. Erdős published around 1,500 mathematical papers during his lifetime, a figure that remains unsurpassed.

He was known both for his social practice of mathematics, working with more than 500 collaborators, and for his eccentric lifestyle; Time magazine called him "The Oddball's Oddball". He firmly believed mathematics to be a social activity, living an itinerant lifestyle with the sole purpose of writing mathematical papers with other mathematicians. He devoted his waking hours to mathematics, even into his later years; he died at a mathematics conference in Warsaw in 1996.

Erdős's prolific output with co-authors prompted the creation of the Erdős number, the number of steps in the shortest path between a mathematician and Erdős in terms of co-authorships. (wikipedia)

• • •

There's a quirky humor to this theme that's mildly charming, but a couple of the answers don't quite work, and overall the puzzle is way, way too easy. I suppose if you haven't heard of some of these book titles, then the puzzle might have provided more of a challenge for you. The last two titles (THE PRINCE OF TIDES and especially THE GREAT ESCAPE) don't have quite the same enduring fame of the others, but only THE GREAT ESCAPE gave me any pause, and then only because I had no idea it was a book. All the other titles are obviously books, definitively books, famously books, even if movie adaptations made some of the titles more generally famous than they'd otherwise be (looking at you, DANGEROUS LIAISONS). But THE GREAT ESCAPE? Yes, as I found out just now when I looked it up, it is a book, but would anyone now know about it if it weren't for the (exceedingly) famous movie? I love that movie. I own that movie. I've seen that movie half a dozen times. Somehow the fact that it was based on a book was entirely unknown to me. When I see the other titles, I think books. When I see THE GREAT ESCAPE, I think Steve McQueen and James Garner. Actually, DANGEROUS LIAISONS makes me think John Malkovich, but in that case, I was at least aware of the novel it was based on (by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (number of NYTXW appearances for LACLOS? Zero)). Two movie adaptations of that book came out within like a year of each other (yep, Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Valmont (1989)), which may be why I knew it was a book in the first place. Or else I read part of it in French class one year, I forget. Anyway, DANGEROUS LIAISONS is perfectly booky, but I didn't like its being plural. I would've said Samson and Delilah made up a single liaison, although ... she does visit him repeatedly to try to learn the source of this strength, so I guess the "liaisons" were multiple, though only the last one seems to have been truly "dangerous" (to Samson, anyway). 

["... Samson & Delilah ..."]

The big weakness of the puzzle, though, wasn't the theme concept per se, but the fact that the answers were so so so easy to crack, at every turn. In fact, I don't think I looked at a single theme clue after the first couple, because I didn't have to. The rest of the puzzle was childishly easy, Monday easy, so I just zipped through it and when I saw a book title take shape in the long Acrosses, I just filled it in. Again, only THE GREAT ESCAPE took any effort, and then only because I didn't know it was a book. I know it must get tiresome hearing me talk about how the puzzle has been radically defanged in recent years. They must have data somewhere that tells them exactly what difficulty level promotes "engagement." Maybe "today's audiences" are impatient and don't like to experience failure, so in the interest of promoting "engagement," the steepness of the weeklong difficulty ramp has been (drastically) reduced. I don't know. I just know it's a drag to walk through a Sunday-sized grid where there's absolutely no resistance. Today was particularly bad, as the puzzle wasn't just easy, it was boring, and filled with musty answers, many of which I had presumed dead. I physically recoiled at stuff like ONENO and INRI and ONEL and ERTE, stuff every old-timer knows instinctively, but that reeks of mothballs by now. IRED!? Ugh, my most hated of never-was-a-word "words." The crosswordese (OPAH ARLO EDIE ILSA ICEE ACELA AROD COSI etc.) just swamps this puzzle, and the stuff that's not crosswordese gets only the most boring and straightforward of clues. A puzzle has a right to be easy (on occasion); it has no right to be dull.

Here is all the "difficulty" I encountered: Blanked on ERDOS, Vice President of the Crossword Mathematician's Club (second-in-command to President EULER). Because I blanked on ERDOS, I faltered on D.O.A. (46A: Hopeless from the start, for short). Let's see, what else? I ... hmmm ... I wrote in EXALT before EXTOL, so there's that (19D: Glorify). Oh, I had a little trouble with HAT TREES, as I would never call them that (they're "hat racks") and (more importantly) I had no idea the answer would be in the plural (86D: Where boaters hang with bowlers). Yes, there are multiple hats in the clue, but multiple hats can hang on a single hat rack (or HAT TREE, if you insist), so there's no reason I should've been looking for the plural there. Shoes have trees, hats have racks, thank you for maintaining this distinction! Anyway, that's it. I don't see a single other area of the puzzle that gave me any trouble. Not a one. And on a Sunday-sized grid? Big ol' grid with absolutely zero fight in it. Extremely disappointing.

[Saw this (amazing) movie yesterday at Cinemapolis in Ithaca, after seeing Send Help (2026) at my local REGAL movie theater on Friday (102D: Big name in movie theaters)]

Bullets:

• 6A: Setting for a landscape (CANVAS) — one of the more clever, inventive, and interesting clues in the puzzle. The clue wording is ambiguous, so that you don't really know what you're looking at ... and then you realize you're looking at a painting. 
• 45D: New Yorkie, say (PUP) — again, more like this! More cuteness. A little play on words, a little dog, that's what I'm talking about.

• 76A: Like Constantinople, in 1930 (RENAMED) — this wasn't "hard," but it didn't come to me right away. I think I was looking for something more dramatic, like INVADED or RETAKEN or something. Why'd they change Constantinople to Istanbul? I can’t say. I guess people just liked it better that way.

• 93A: Get the ___ (finally become aware) (MEMO) — more clues like this! This actually made me have to think. And work the crosses. And then when I got it, I was satisfied, not annoyed. Extremely straightforward clues are an important part of any puzzle (people need toeholds), but this puzzle desperately needed more playful clues like this.
• 22D: ___ Stark, "Game of Thrones" patriarch (NED) — I am an inveterate GOT non-watcher. I tried, it didn't take, The End. But my student Carmelo insisted that the new GOT spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, was worth my attention, so I put it on yesterday and damned if I didn't enjoy it. Laughed a lot. No dragons or magic or rape or incest so far, just an adorable lunk of a man (Ser Dunk!) trying to prove to everyone that he's actually a "knight." And so far I haven't needed to know a damn thing about the original GOT to enjoy it. I'm only one episode in, but so far: recommended.

• 81D: One making an impression? (MIMIC) — really disappointed to find out this wasn't MONET. That "M" had me so sure ...

That's all. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. two new crossword tournament announcements landed in my inbox this weekend. 

• Registration for the Boswords 2026 Spring Themeless League (starting Mar. 2) is now open:

This 10-week event starts with a Preseason puzzle on Monday, March 2 and features weekly themeless puzzles -- clued at three levels of difficulty -- from an all-star roster of constructors and are edited by Brad Wilber. To register, to solve a practice puzzle, to view the constructor line-up, and to learn more, go to www.boswords.org.

 

• Registration for Westwords 2026 is also now open. This tournament is both in-person (Berkeley, CA, June 14, 2026) and online.

Westwords 2026 will feature six competition puzzles, four themed and two freestyle (themeless), ranging in difficulty from easy breezy 💐 to very challenging 😈. The final puzzle will be offered at two different difficulty levels. All six puzzles will contribute to solvers' overall score and placement — in other words, the last puzzle will not be scored separately. // The tournament, both in-person and online, will run from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, June 14. In-person solvers will be able to arrive at 10 to sign in and socialize. The day will include a 75-minute lunch break. 

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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Read more...

Clip-on mic, for short / SAT 2-21-26 / Pink-furred "Garfield" character / Certain slip-on / Overseer of the Erie Canal, in brief / "Star Trek" villain played by Ricardo Montalbán / Film subgenre exemplified by "The Thing" and "The Fly" / European city on the Bay of Angels / The third primary chakra is located just above it

Constructor: Josh Knapp

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: Heated Rivalry (41A: Rachel ___, author of "Heated Rivalry" = > REID) —

Heated Rivalry is a 2019 gay sports romance novel by Canadian author Rachel Reid. It follows a secret romantic relationship between rival hockey stars Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. The novel is the second in Reid's Game Changers series of gay-themed ice hockey romance novels. A television series based on the novel was released in November 2025. // Rachel Reid's Game Changer was published by Carina Press, an LGBTQ+ imprint of Harlequin, in 2018. It was followed by Heated Rivalry (2019), Tough Guy (2020), Common Goal (2020), Role Model (2021), The Long Game (2022), and the forthcoming Unrivaled (2026). Reid, a hockey fan, said in 2023, "Game Changer came from a place of me being angry at hockey culture and how clearly homophobic it was and is, and all the other things that made me really ashamed to be a hockey fan. That whole series attacks the NHL and hockey culture quite a bit." Writing the series, Reid questioned what would it mean to be a closeted player in a league with such a homophobic culture. "I thought a lot about what it would feel like to come out. And then I started thinking about the ripple effect—what would happen to the other players?" (wikipedia)

• • •

There's something about a JKQXZ fetish that can start to feel excessive. Like the puzzle is doing a bit, a little show-offy thing, instead of just trying to get the best and most interesting fill into the grid. The puzzle felt at times like it was being driven by unusual letters rather than interesting words and phrases. Despite this semi-annoying tendency, the grid is really very good in places, particularly the NW, which has one of my favorite stacks in a long while—just a strange assortment of strong answers. BLANK STARE and BODY HORROR pair well (1A: Look to give nothing away? / 15A: Film subgenre exemplified by "The Thing" and "The Fly")—you might stare blankly at BODY HORROR, or stare blankly at human beings after experiencing the trauma of BODY HORROR—but then the QUESADILLA drops in as the third member of the trio and makes the whole corner delightfully absurd. Now instead of imagining staring blankly into the void after witnessing horrific gore and bodily mutation, I'm imagining what would happen if Taco Bell did a tie-in with the next Cronenberg movie and offered a BODY HORROR QUESADILLA. What would be in that? Pieces of ARLENE and LOUISA, no doubt. Considering what it might do to your digestive system, perhaps every Taco Bell Quesadilla is already a BODY HORROR QUESADILLA. Anyway, I like the phrase BODY HORROR QUESADILLA, just as I like the opposing energies of ROCK BOTTOM and EXHILARATE down below. MYSTERY BOX, I don't love so well. Where / when would I "purchase" one of these? Sounds made-up. But otherwise, the NW / SE stacks are really strong. The rest of the 8+ answers are holding their own as well. And POP QUIZ manages to make the whole JKQXZ fetish seem almost worth it ... and yet POP QUIZ is also involved in this puzzle's one real crime, which is the absurd doubling up of "POP" (POP QUIZ, POP TAB). You can double little words like UP and ON and IN and NO and the like, but doubling a word like POP feels like a violation. Too conspicuous. Unless it's an article or a preposition, I'm generally against duplications. Feels sloppy / lazy / disrespectful. One of those. But I can't say I didn't enjoy this puzzle, because mostly I did.

Once I got my initial traction in the NW (KHAN to NAVEL to ROLL (OVER) to ERA etc.), the puzzle seemed pretty easy. The one area I struggled with a bit was in the east, where Rachel REID's name was unknown to me (you can't go anywhere without hearing about Heated Rivalry the TV show, esp. with so much (Olympic) hockey in the air right now, but I was unaware of the book series it's based on). I was able to piece her name together from the crosses without too much trouble, but just above that I ran into more serious trouble in the whole PONCHO area. First of all, that clue on PONCHO, yikes (25A: Certain slip-on). You do slip one on but no one in the history of sartorial discourse has ever called a PONCHO a "slip-on." That's obviously a shoe term. So even after getting the "PO-" and the terminal "-O," I was left wondering. "POTATO? Can you slip that on? Maybe you slip on it ... no, that's a banana peel." 

When crosses eventually got me PONCHO, I was left with just one (big) issue: the CAR SHARE / LAV crossing. CAR SHARE had a clue I didn't really understand at first (13D: Many key changes take place in it) (I might've considered CAR STORE at some point...), and LAV ... what the hell is this clip-on microphone business? (31A: Clip-on mic, for short). Not familiar to me. No idea, right now, what LAV is short for, or what it stands for (is it an acronym??). I know about lapel mikes and so definitely considered LAP at one point, but the "OVER" (from ROLL / OVER) was never gonna budge. Not knowing LAV—or, rather, knowing LAV only as a toilet—had me second-guessing CAR SHARE, but once you've plugged in all the other vowels there (CAR SHORE? CAR SHIRE? LOL, "Where do the Hobbits park their cars....?"), it has to be CAR SHARE. So in went the "A" and "Congratulations" went the solving software and [extreme shrug] went me on finding out LAV was the correct answer. Strange ... as soon as I went to search [lav mic] just now, I thought, "I think it's short for 'lavalier,' how do I know that?" And sure enough:

lavalier microphone or lavalier (also known as a lav, lapel mic, clip mic, body mic, collar mic, neck mic or personal mic) is a small microphone used for television, interview and other studio applications to allow hands-free operation. They are most commonly provided with small clips for attaching to collars, ties, or other clothing. The cord may be hidden by clothes and either run to a radio frequency transmitter kept in a pocket or clipped to a belt, or routed directly to the mixer or a recording device. [...] The term lavalier originally referred to jewelry in the form of a pendant worn around the neck. Its use as the name of a type of microphone originates from the 1930s, when various practical solutions to microphone use involved hanging the microphone from the neck.(wikipedia)

I have enjoyed learning about the history of hands-free microphones. I did not enjoy LAV while solving, as I didn't know it and it was impossible to infer. 64 total NYTXW appearances for LAV, but this is the first microphone clue. As I said, every other time: toilet (e.g. [Loo], [W.C.], [Head], [John], [Facilities, informally], etc.).

Bullets:

• 4D: Overseer of the Erie Canal, in brief (NYS) — I live in NYS and still couldn't get this. Wrote in EPA at first, I think.
• 5D: "Star Trek" villain played by Ricardo Montalbán (KHAN) — I still struggle with the KHAN v. KAHN thing. KHAN is a central / south Asian honorific. KAHN ... isn't. It's Madeleine KAHN, Wrath of KHAN.

• 59A: How low can you go? (ROCK BOTTOM) — read this as "How long can you go?" and really wondered what the clue was trying to ask me.
• 13D: Many key changes take place in it (CAR SHARE) — still not sure I get this. Car shares involve multiple drivers, obviously, but are "keys" really "changed?" Do most carshare cars even use keys? Don't you unlock the car with your app or something? I'm out of my depth here, but it seems like the desire for the "key change" pun has led to a certain iffiness in the clue.
• 8D: Pink-furred "Garfield" character (ARLENE) — tertiary "Garfield" characters are really bottom-of-the-barrel stuff. ROCK BOTTOM, you might say. You gotta know ODIE, obviously, and JON, I suppose, and I guess I can give you JON's girlfriend LIZ (how do I know this stuff!?), but once you get down to ARLENE and IRMA and NERMAL, I think you've gone too far (actually, no one has ever attempted NERMAL, but who knows what horrors the future holds...). ARLENE is Garfield's love interest, I'm told. I'm also told that Garfield has a great-grandfather named OSLO Feline. I doubt that will ever be part of an OSLO clue, but if it is, now you're prepared.

That's all for today. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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❤️ Support this blog ❤️: 

• Venmo (@MichaelDavidSharp)]

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✏️ Upcoming Crossword Tournaments ✏️

• American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (Stamford, CT, Apr. 10-12, 2026) (registration closed!)

=============================
📘 My other blog 📘:

• Pop Sensation (vintage paperbacks)

Read more...